200

Number of varieties of heritage apples grown in Normandy to make Calvados, an apple brandy. The apples used for this northern French spirit are an example of an incredible range of biodiversity. By comparison, rum production uses only four types of sugarcane. There are currently 300 registered Calvados producers, although six account for 95% of all the Calvados produced.

Maybe We’re All Just Evolved

“By far the most important thing for me from the [Judgement of Paris tasting], apart from it being a ‘win-win’ for both France and California, as the former was resting on its laurels and needed ‘a kick up the backside’ and the latter needed recognition, was that it created a template whereby little-known wines of quality could be tasted blind alongside well-known wines of quality and if the tasters themselves were of impeccable quality, their judgements would be respected.”

—Steven Spurrier (1941-2021), on the outcome of the famous 1976 tasting of French and California wines he helped orchestrate.

200

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